Our last blog?

When you've come this far, you should really also see the ocean. Well - ecce oceanus pacificus!

We have had a couple of relaxed days in LA. And as promised: we had lunch today two tables away from Ellen DeG. at a place where recently R-Pats (formerly of K-Stew), as well as Charlize Th. and Leo DiC. had been, and on our way out Esther almost stumbled over Topher G. (I must admit I completely missed that), the actor playing Eric Forman in That 70s Show. And no, we did not scream hysterically, nor did we ask for autographs or take pictures. So you'll just have to take our word for it!

We'll be flying back home tomorrow. Thanks again for following us!

State-istics

Texas

The Lone Star state
State flower: Bluebonnet
Places we stayed: Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Stockton


New Mexico

The Enchantment State
State flower: Yucca flower
Places we stayed: Carlsbad, Santa Fe

Arizona

The Grand Canyon State
State flower: Saguaro Cactus Blossom
Places we stayed: Holbrook, Scottsdale, Sedona, Tusayan (Grand Canyon)

Nevada

The Silver State
State flower: Sagebrush
Places we stayed: Las Vegas


California

The Golden State
State flower: California poppy
Places we stayed: Studio City (Los Angeles)

Lalaland!

We have arrived in Los Angeles.

Now, the final stretch was really boring. Four hours of boring desert, and pretty busy too - little did we know that it was "come home Sunday". But having arrived, we feel pretty good about the entire trip. It has been a very special experience and one I may have to (and want to!) repeat in years to come. And then hopefully there will not be a hazardous spill in the Carlsbad Caverns, there will be a different opera in Santa Fe (La Traviata!), and we'll see different things, meet different people and try different colors on our nails!

We shall spend our remaining time in LA with friends and family. If we spot (and recognize!) any celebrities, we'll let you know.

Numbers

2,000 miles.

3,200 kilometers.
Four states.
Three timezones.
Nine hotels.
About fifteen gas stations (and gas is soooo cheap here!).
Hundreds of C&W songs on the radio.
482 photos (excluding the ones Esther took with her three cameras).
24 blog posts (including this one).
Countless lemonades and bagels with cream cheese. Three shows.

And so much fun!

Tomorrow willl be the last stretch of our road trip. Another 300 miles. Another state. We will keep you posted!

Vegas baby Vegas!

Yesterday we arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are staying in a hotel full of gondolas, masks, seductive phantoms and blackjack tables, yes, it's The Venetian. The weather is extremely hot, so we only saw the Strip from the car. We also went to see the Hoover Dam, which was really impressive. Here are some pictures of the Dam and Las Vegas:

Today we went to Cirque du Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio, which is a beautiful circus water show and was very fun to see.

Grand Canyon

Thursday we went to the Grand Canyon, and it was absolutely amazing. We walked a good 3 km, and the view was beautiful. Barbara was a little scared that I would fall off the edges, but she had nothing to worry because I was very careful. There also were many elk, and some cars behind us had to stop because the elk crossed the road.

The lovely view,

and of course the elk. (Esther scripsit)

Duitsers, Fransen en ... Hollanders!

Hebben we onszelf tot nu toe als vrij exotische vreemdelingen (οί βαρβαροι) mogen beschouwen, vandaag werden we in de Grand Canyon overspoeld door Duitsers, Fransen en heel veel Hollanders. Henk en Ingrid nemen het er goed van; zoveel werd wel duidelijk! Morgen reizen we weer door; later meer over de Grand Canyon. Alvast een foto.

Sedona

Yesterday we drove from Phoenix to Sedona, which was a relaxed two hour drive. We are staying in L'Auberge de Sedona, which is a beatiful hotel with little Centerparks cottages (Dutch people will know). In Sedona we went to a little shopping center with a lot of art galleries where Native Americans showed their art called 'Tlaquepaque'. We went to a lot of beautiful shops in Tlaquepaque, we ate some ice cream in Tlaquepaque, we climbed some stairs in Tlaquepaque. We love saying Tlaquepaque.
After that, we went to a house of a friend, where there was a beautiful view of the red rocks, and Sedona itself. There also were two little bronze javelinas called Soviet and Union. For dinner we went to a steakhouse with a beautiful terrace where we could see more red rocks, and an occasional bat or two. At our little Centerparks cottage there was an outside shower, where I showered under the starry sky.
Today we will be driving to the Grand Canyon, about which I am very excited. (Esther scripsit)

Me, Soviet and Union.

Relax

We will be leaving Scottsdale today to drive all the way to Sedona (a relaxed two hour drive). We have spent the last two days mostly at the poolside although we have also done some shopping and culture. We went to Taliesin West on Monday evening.

Taliesin West is a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1937-1957. He lived there, with his family and apprentices, during the winters (summers were spent in Taliesin in Wisconsin). The house, which is only open to the public on special tours, including the Monday evening tours that we participated in, is designed to blend in with nature and not only the house itself is spectacular, but so are the views of the mountains and valley surrounding it - especially during sunset which is when we were there.

Phoenix is supposed to be one of the hottest cities in the US (temperaturewise), with 360 sunny days in the year. So you can imagine how blessed we feel that we have had rain each day that we were here. Fortunately, the rain is short enough to still be fun (see previous post) and cool enough to take away some of the heat.

On Monday, we also did the mother-daughter spa experience. Great fun, and we got our nails polished too!